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Animals

Narwhal

narwalDESCRIPTION:  Narwhals are perhaps best known fortheir tusks-they are the only whales that have them. The tusk is an extremelyelongated, hollow tooth, which always spirals counter-clockwise from the leftside of the skull. It can measure 2.5-2.7 m long. Most narwhals havejust one tusk, but narwhals with two tusks have been reported. Almostexclusively seen in males, there are only scattered reports of femalesdeveloping a tusk. Narwhals have no other visible teeth in their jaws. Like thebeluga whales, narwhals lack a dorsal fin and instead have a dorsal ridge.Mature narwhals tend to have a black and white spotted coloration the dorsalregion of their body, while older narwhals may be almost completely white.Narwhal calves typically are a blotchy gray.Males tend to grow larger than females.
SIZE:   Newborn calves average 1.6 m in length.Male -  Minus the tusk, adult male narwhals measure upto 5 m long,Females are smaller, with a size up to 4 m in length.
WEIGHT: At birth, calves can weigh as much as 80 kg. Mature males weigh up to 1,600 kg,Adult females can reach a weight of upto 900 kg
FUN FACTS:
  • Narwhals are toothed whales in thefamily Monodontidae, which they share with just one other species - the belugawhale.
  • Some theorize that males"joust" with their tusks or use them to poke their way through icefloes or even to skewer prey. These theories are unlikely. If the tusk weredamaged, it could lead to severe infections and death for the narwhal. The tuskprobably serves as a secondary sexual characteristic for males, indicatingwhich males are older and more mature.
  • Contrary to common belief, narwhals donot spear fish with their tusks, but instead suck prey into their mouth andthen swallow it whole.
  •  Narwhalstravel farther north than perhaps any other whale species. They are welladapted for life in frigid water, with blubber accounting for up to 35% oftheir body weight for insulation.

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